Today's AFL-CIO press clips
POLITICS
AFL-CIO bus tour stops in Michigan at rally vs.’Big Bad Bill’
People’s World
By Cameron Harrison
July 18, 2025
Trade unionists and retirees gathered at noon Thursdayoutside the headquarters here of United Auto Workers Region 1 as part of the AFL-CIO’s “Better In A Union” bus tour. The federation’s tour will crisscross the country over the next several weeks leading up to Labor Day to denounce the billionaire-backed Trump administration’s attacks on working families and trade union freedoms. Especially on workers’ minds here is the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” just passed by the Republican-controlled Congress. The bill slashes worker protections, guts safety nets and healthcare for millions, eliminates environmental protections, and locks in indefinite, massive tax cuts for the capitalist class.
Organized labor rally against budget bill (Video)
WKRN
July 18, 2025
Workers and union leaders made a stop in Nashville, saying they're fighting for job security following the passage Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill.
Former Chief Federal Lawyers Sound the Alarm: Federal Employees Need Your Help
The Contrarian
By Seema Nanda
July 18, 2025
Since January, the basic human dignity of hundreds of thousands of federal workers has been violated. The people who care for our veterans, inspect our food, water, and medicine, support our cities and schools, protect our health and safety on the job, and keep us safe during accidents and disasters are being recklessly and abruptly dismissed from jobs their families and communities rely on. Last Tuesday, the crisis escalated. The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration could move forward with Reductions in Force (RIF) plans at around 20 federal agencies and departments, allowing the firing of thousands more federal workers while litigation continues. As early as this week, workers have received emails that they have been “officially separated” from their jobs by the end of the next day.
EPA eliminates its scientific research arm
The Washington Post
By Amudalat Ajasa
July 18, 2025
“Without the Office of Research and Development, our nation’s air, water and land will turn more toxic and our people more sick with preventable disease,” said Nicole Cantello, a legislative and political coordinator in the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Council 238, a nationwide union that represents more than 8,000 EPA employees.
E.P.A. Says It Will Eliminate Its Scientific Research Arm
The New York Times
By Lisa Friedman and Maxine Joselow
July 18, 2025
The American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, a union that represents more than 8,000 E.P.A. workers, slammed Friday’s announcement. The science office “is the heart and brain of the E.P.A.,” said Justin Chen, president of A.F.G.E. Council 238. “Without it, we don’t have the means to assess impacts upon human health and the environment. Its destruction will devastate public health in our country.”
US farm agency fires 70 foreign researchers following national security review
Reuters
By Leah Douglas
July 18, 2025
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it has fired 70 foreign contract researchers after a national security review intended to secure the U.S. food supply from adversaries including China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. "USDA has completed a thorough review of individuals authorized to work on contracts with the department and identified approximately 70 individuals from countries of concern," a spokesperson said.
Trump Must Reveal Agency Layoff Plans, But Not Publicly
Bloomberg Law
By Isaiah Poritz and Parker Purifoy
July 18, 2025
Federal agencies under the Trump administration must provide sealed copies of their reduction in force plans to a California federal judge and the attorneys suing the administration over its efforts to drastically reduce the federal workforce. Judge Susan Illston in a Friday ruling said at this early stage of the case she would not require the administration to publicly reveal its Agency Reduction in Force and Reorganization Plans, known as ARRPs, although she noted that the “information at issue is of grave public concern.”
Health insurance through Affordable Care Act faces big premium hikes
The Washington Post
By Paige Winfield Cunningham
July 18, 2025
Health insurers are proposing double-digit price hikes for plans sold through Affordable Care Act marketplaces, as extra federal subsidies for premiums expire at the end of the year and President Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten higher pharmaceutical prices. The median monthly premium increase would be 15 percent, according to a new analysis of insurer filings conducted by the nonpartisan health policy organization KFF.
White House to Release $1.3 Billion in Frozen Funds for After-School Programs
The New York Times
By Sarah Mervosh
July 18, 2025
The Trump administration said Friday that it would release $1.3 billion in frozen federal funding for after-school programs across the country, after facing growing bipartisan pressure. The Trump administration, which wants to slash spending and reduce the federal government’s role in education, had abruptly withheld the money, along with billions in other education dollars. It said it was conducting a review and had found instances of federal dollars being “grossly misused to subsidize a radical left-wing agenda.”
Activists try to preserve IRS’s Direct File now that Trump has ended it
The Washington Post
By Julie Zauzmer Weil
July 18, 2025
The Trump administration has shut down the IRS’s two-year-old experiment in free streamlined tax filing, but the people behind Direct File don’t want to let it go quietly. The massive tax-and-spending law that President Donald Trump signed on July 4 included funds to study a replacement for the IRS-built website that the Republican administration had already begun to dismantle. Yet the idea of keeping the public filing option alive in some form has brought together a collection of activists and computer programmers including former IRS employees, nonprofit advocates and even an 18-year-old dishwasher in Arizona who wants to create his own tax filing website despite having never filed a return for himself.
US merit board judge certifies class of fired Interior Department workers
Reuters
By Daniel Wiessner
July 18, 2025
A U.S. civil service board judge has ruled that hundreds of U.S. Department of Interior employees who were fired and then reinstated amid the Trump administration's purge of the federal workforce can pursue claims that their terminations were illegal as a group. Chief Administrative Judge Sara Snyder of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board in a decision on Thursday said the validity of the February mass firing of 1,712 probationary employees at the Interior Department posed a common question that would best be addressed in a class action.
Hill Republicans brace for another grueling fight over Trump’s spending cuts
Politico
By Jordain Carney and Meredith Lee Hill
July 18, 2025
Congressional Republicans have passed Donald Trump’s $9 billion rescissions package, capping a painful ordeal that put even members who supported it in a tough spot. Now, many Republicans are wincing at the prospect of having to do it all over again.
Judge restores Democrat to Federal Trade Commission, ruling her firing by Trump was illegal
AP
By Lea Skene and Mark Sherman
July 18, 2025
A federal judge has restored a Democrat to the Federal Trade Commission, ruling that President Donald Trump illegally fired her earlier this year in his efforts to exert control over independent agencies across the government. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan ruled late Thursday that federal law protects FTC commissioners from being removed by the president without cause, citing a key 1935 U.S. Supreme Court decision involving the FTC. The decision allows Rebecca Kelly Slaughter to resume her duties as commissioner. The FTC website had been updated by Friday morning to show that Slaughter is among four sitting commissioners.
Judge Orders Trump Officials to Restore Funding for Radio Free Europe
The New York Times
By Minho Kim
July 18, 2025
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to restore funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a federally funded newsroom that provides independent reporting in countries with limited press freedom, such as Russia, Iran and Afghanistan. The judge, Royce C. Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, berated the Trump administration in his ruling, calling its legal arguments “nonsensical” and its decision to withhold funds “unprecedented.”
With gavel in hand, Trump chisels away at the power of a compliant Congress
AP
By Lisa Mascaro
July 19, 2025
“Mr. President, this is the gavel used to enact the ‘big, beautiful bill,’” House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a White House signing ceremony on the Fourth of July. “I want you to have it,” he said. Handing over the gavel delighted President Donald Trump who, seated behind a desk outdoors, immediately tested it out with a few quick thumps. The moment left a memorable mark on a historic day. The gesture reflected a traditional nod of honor, from one leader to another, a milestone of the Republican Party’s priority legislation becoming law. But the imagery also underscored a symbolic transfer of political power, from Capitol Hill to the White House as a compliant Congress is ceding more and more of its prerogative to the presidency.
Trump creates 'Schedule G' to add more political appointees to agencies top ranks
Government Executive
By Eric Katz
July 18, 2025
President Trump created another new category of federal employee on Thursday evening, issuing an executive order to expand the number of political appointees who do not require Senate confirmation and will serve in policy-making or policy-advocating roles. While presidents can already tap an uncapped number of appointees to serve in Schedule C positions, Trump noted those individuals serve in more narrow confidential or policy-determining roles. The new positions will therefore fill a gap that currently exists in federal appointments, the White House said. The order is the latest in Trump’s effort to establish a tighter grip on the executive branch and its actions. He has already created Schedule Policy/Career, formerly known as Schedule F, which is similarly defined to Schedule G but reserved for career civil servants.’’
Can the Fed stay independent? Trump-era adviser may put it to the test.
The Washington Post
By Andrew Ackerman
July 19, 2025
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett drew laughter from a roomful of economists in late March when he launched into an attack on wind turbines, blaming them for killing birds, in a riff that echoed President Donald Trump.
Republicans’ food aid cuts will hit grocers in many towns that backed Trump
Politico
By Rachel Shin
July 19, 2025
The deep cuts Republicans made to federal nutrition programs this summer are poised to devastate independent grocery stores that are central to many low-income communities, including those that voted for President Donald Trump. Food aid recipients often make up the majority of small grocers’ customer base in remote areas and food deserts — places that have limited options for fresh, healthy food.
G.O.P. Push Behind Trump Agenda Has Congress in an Uproar
The New York Times
By Carl Hulse
July 20, 2025
Republicans’ relentless marathon to force President Trump’s agenda through Congress over objections from Democrats and some in their own ranks is taking a toll on the institution and its members, prompting tempers to boil over and relationships to fray on Capitol Hill, with potentially disastrous consequences ahead.
Trump officials accused of defying 1 in 3 judges who ruled against him
The Washington Post
By Justin Jouvenal
July 21, 2025
President Donald Trump and his appointees have been accused of flouting courts in a third of the more than 160 lawsuits against the administration in which a judge has issued a substantive ruling, a Washington Post analysis has found, suggesting widespread noncompliance with America’s legal system.
IMMIGRATION
US judge weighs putting new block on Trump's birthright citizenship order
Reuters
By Jan Wolfe
July 18, 2025
A group of Democratic-led states urged a federal judge in Boston on Friday to deal another blow to President Donald Trump's attempts to limit birthright citizenship, even though a U.S. Supreme Court decision last month made it more difficult for lower courts to block White House directives. Lawyers for New Jersey, arguing on behalf of 18 states and the District of Columbia, urged U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin to maintain an injunction he imposed in February that blocked Trump's executive order nationwide.
LABOR AND ECONOMY
Northeast Portland’s Gateway Fred Meyer closure to result in the loss of nearly 250 jobs
Oregon Public Broadcasting
By Tarek Anthony
July 18, 2025
Portland’s Gateway Fred Meyer store, located at 1111 NE 102nd Ave., is set to close in September. The closure will result in the loss of about 250 jobs, according to a state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice. In a letter to employees Wednesday, the company said it would review potential opportunities for staff to transfer to other locations. The closure comes after grocery store chain Kroger — which owns Fred Meyer — announced last month it would be closing more than 60 stores nationwide to increase profitability. Store employees at the Gateway location are represented by two unions, UFCW Local 555 and BCTGM Local 114.
ORGANIZING
University of Pennsylvania postdocs and research associates vote to unionize
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Ariana Perez-Castells
July 18, 2025
Postdoctoral researchers and research associates at the University of Pennsylvania have voted to form a union. The roughly 1,500-person bargaining unit is just the latest to emerge from a wave of organizing efforts by multiple groups, comprising thousands of student workers, who have voted in favor of unionizing at Penn, Philadelphia’s largest employer.
UNION NEGOTIATIONS
In WNBA, a collective bargaining battle has replaced social activism
The Washington Post
By Kareem Copeland
July 19, 2025
This is the center of the WNBA universe this weekend, with planned celebrations across the city — highlighted by Saturday’s All-Star Game. Serious business also took place, with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association meeting with league representatives to continue negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement.
WNBA players wisely use All-Star spotlight for CBA leverage: ‘Pay us what you owe us’
The New York Times
By Sabreena Merchant
July 20, 2025
The WNBA All-Star Weekend represented the league at its peak: a massive mid-season showcase featuring the best players in the world, hosted in a city that has become synonymous with the rapid explosion of women’s sports. But the celebrations took place in front of a backdrop of labor uncertainty. The league and the players’ union remain far apart in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, with the current CBA set to expire on Oct. 31.With all eyes on the WNBA, the All-Stars emerged for pregame warmups Saturday to reveal a message on their shirts: “Pay Us What You Owe Us.”
District Council 33 set to reveal results of ratification vote on Monday
NBC 10 Philadelphia
By NBC10 Staff
July 20, 2025
Members of Philadelphia's largest labor union, AFSCME District Council 33 (DC 33), have spent the past week voting to determine if a new contract will be ratified. And soon, the results of that voting will be made public. DC 33, which represents about 9,000 workers in the city, had gone on strike back on July 1, 2025. The union and the city agreed to a tentative deal on July 9, which would give a 9% salary increase for the workers union over the next three years of Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s term.
Kansas City SEIU janitors ratify new union contract that guarantees 3 years of raises
KCUR
By Ryleigh Hindle
July 19, 2025
Kansas City janitors with Service Employees International Union Local 1 last weekend ratified a new contract that includes four guaranteed raises over its three-year lifespan. The contract covers around 800 janitors that work with eight different companies to clean over 150 buildings and public spaces like Crown Center, Union Station and City Hall.
Union workers at Corning nursing home ratify three year contract, wage increase
WSKG
By Natalie Abruzzo
July 18, 2025
Union nursing home workers at Corning Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare ratified a new labor contract on July 4. Workers received wage increases and benefits expansions in the contract. The previous contract for Corning Center union members expired April 30. Health care workers at the nursing facility, represented by the 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, will receive increases in new hire and longevity wages, shift differentials and employer-provided pension contributions.
Hospitality union workers picket Houston’s largest hotel
Hotel Dive
By Noelle Mateer
July 18, 2025
Union hotel workers picketed Hilton Americas-Houston to advocate for a wage increase to at least $23 per hour, according to a release from hospitality union Unite Here Local 23, obtained by Hotel Dive. Hilton Americas is the city’s largest hotel by rooms, according to Houston Business Journal.
Safeway workers poised to strike in California
Supermarket News
By Timothy Inklebarger
July 18, 2025
Unionized Safeway workers in Northern California are set to go on strike on July 26 if they fail to reach an agreement on contract negotiations, according to a statement from United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) locals 5, 8, and 648. The union said its bargaining committee members met with Safeway representatives on July 15 and 16, following the union’s membership voting to authorize a strike if necessary.
WORKPLACE SAFETY AND HEALTH
CWA Urges OSHA to Strengthen Heat Safety Standards to Protect All Workers
Occupational Health & Safety
By Stasia DeMarco
July 18, 2025
A panel of staff and members from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) testified this week at a public hearing hosted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), urging the agency to implement a robust federal standard to protect workers from heat-related illnesses and fatalities. The hearing, part of OSHA’s ongoing process for its proposed rule on Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings, drew attention to the increasing dangers of extreme heat on the job. CWA voiced strong support for an enforceable federal standard and called for enhancements to the current proposal.
LABOR AND ENTERTAINMENT
Writers Guild Calls for Investigation After ‘Late Show’ Cancellation, Citing Bribery Concerns
The Hollywood Reporter
By Katie Kilkenny
July 18, 2025
The union representing writers on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert is calling for a New York state investigation into Paramount following the cancellation of the show on Thursday, airing concerns that the move may be a form of bribery. The union’s East and West Coast branches asked that New York state Attorney General Letitia James open an inquiry into “potential wrongdoing” at the company in a strongly worded statement on Friday.
Deadline
By Peter White
July 18, 2025
The WGA, which represents a slew of writers on the show, put out a strongly worded statement against the move and called for New York State Attorney General Letitia James to launch an investigation into “potential wrongdoing” at Paramount.h